28/5/12

Big opening in the lounge/Kitchen

Mark went back over on how to use Moodle and Blogger ect,Due to a bunch of people who have not been keeping up to date with their work.Once we went back over this we had smoko, After smoko we moved back to the house build.I had a look at the board to see what my group was assigned to doing,(half of my group was here) me and Jesse,had to cut the lintel to the length of 3720mm,as the architects had botched up the plans,I ripped 2 90x45mm timber in lengths of 2315mm for the new studs,2 trimmer studs were cut at 1965mm,So double studs finally come into play in stead of blocks.

New dwangs will be made to match,I used a Skilsaw to cut the lintel down to the right length,Made a minor mistake then Cam came and showed us how it was done.A spirit level was used to get the studs all level/plumb.We then realised that the lintel looked slightly bowed.So I set up a dodger block.By the time this happened it was time to pack up and get ready to blog.Tomorrow we will have all the studs in the correct spots and nailed down using 4 inch reds steel nails with the paslode nail gun.And if the lintel is bowed then bracing will be installed and used to pull the bow out.

Amended Plans to comply with NZS3604

2 Trimmer studs along with a stud,another is yet to  be  put in place.

21/5/12

We all started with 1 hour session in class in regards on how to use a plumb bob and how to straighten our frames using bracing.I never knew how to use a plumb bob or what it was untill today.It is quite an interesting tool to use.It is set up at the top of the Top plate,A nail is nailed in for the string line for the plumb bob to be attached to.The string is to overhang over the timber.A 100mm gap is something managable measurement to be used.A rule is then used to measure from the inside of the string to the outside of the exterior frame at the top plate.Once that measurement is gathered then the next one is to be taken from the bottom plate.If it is 103mm at the bottom then it is out.which would mean the bottom plate is sticking out an extra 3mm.

Dodger block-3 blocks with the same width and a string line with a nail at each end.

If there is rain and or wind then it is practical to use a bucket fill of water(Plumb bob in bucket) as this stops it from moving when trying to get the measurements.This is a highly accurate way of finding plumb for the walls.

Spirit level and straight edge is used at each corner of the building to get level,then bracing is nailed in at the top and can then be used as a guide to move the wall backwards and forwards.So that the right position can be found,Once this is done then you can brace to the boundary joists to keep it in the correct position.For the bigger spaces.Such as the lounge,bracing will come into the middle of the room(sercured to blocks to the floor) as the outside of the house will need to be wrapped with builders paper.It is also vital that the internal walls are inside the house before the last exterior wall is sercured in.

After being in the class room we went out to the workshop to continue squaring up the remaining walls.Once we had done that,Me and Brad,were given the task of setting up a dodgem block,on the outside of the wet area exterior walls.We removed a quarter of the tacked nails in the bottom plate then used a block and ran it between the string line and bottom plate to see how much we had to move the plate.At 600mm centers we nailed the plate down,A dogyu was used to move the bottom plate to the right spot.Then the nails were used.

21/03/12

-Class trip to the River.
-Set up Builders Level.

My Contour Plan results.

Today we went down to the river,We were split up into four groups of six.The equipment we had was,A Sopworth Staff,Builders Level,Tripod,Dazzle(Spraycan),and a 30 metre long tap measure.A member in my group sprayed a cross to represent the start of the grid.We set up the Builders level on the tripod and got it level.We sprayed the increments of 5 metre lines inbetween the 30 metre line which added up to six squares, after that we did the 345 to get an accurate line at 90 degrees.Then we replicated what we had done earlier.After we had the grid set up we got the Staff out and I used the builders level to gain the measurements using the line of collimation in the sight of the level.After we had finished that practical activity we headed back to UCOL.Matt showed us how to construct up a contour plan which is mainly used by achitects.The contour plans basically show how rough the terrain is.